There has been a retro renaissance coming out of Great Britain as heard from the voices of Amy Winehouse and Duffy. In the northern part of the British Isles there seems to be a rock resurgence from the lasses of Scotland. First there was the Bo Diddley honoring KT Tunstall with her Black Horse and the Cherry Tree. Now the land of kilts and bagpipes brings us Amy MacDonald, another guitar toting singer with her debut This Is the Life.
Unlike Tunstall, whose formative years were spent in New England, MacDonald is Scottish born and bread leaving her with a thick accent that can even be heard in her singing voice that hasn’t been heard since the chick from The Cranberries. The differences to Tunstall also draw a line in musicianship where MacDonald really has only one gear, where Tunstall could craft many different tunes, each as good as the previous.
But that one gear is pretty good, the showstopper being the title track, an upbeat Celtic folk song about going down to your local pub for some ale and a band. That same esthetic goes the same for Mr. Rock and Roll and the ode to Pete Doherty Poison Prince. The slow, strings laden Footballer’s Wives also get a sarcastic song on their behalf.
Also on the disk is the Mexican horns opening for Let’s Start a Band that conjures up images of the previously mentioned small town pub that quickly morph into stadium with Amy telling Rolling Stone and Glastonbury to get ready. It could make any Guitar Hero to put down a plastic toy and pick up a real ax. The variety may not be as wide on This Is the Life but keep in mind Tunstall has more than a decade on the twenty year old, with age, maybe MacDonald Rolling Stone cover premonition could come true before she hits thirty.
- How does the Women’s Team Sabre team grab a Bronze after sweeping the individual medals? But anyways. The most interesting thing that came out of the Bronze Medal match was that actually have redo. Not only was there was a redo, it was for the deciding point and this is even with instant replay. Imagine if that happened in the Super Bowl, fourth quarter, less than ten seconds and they review a touchdown where the receiver may have been out of bound and the referee comes out of his little viewing station and announces, “Yeah, I have no clue, why don’t we just do that play over.”
- The only rule that may be more silly, and by more silly, I mean secretly brilliant is the baseball rule that if the game goes to eleven innings, both teams start off with runners on first and second. Too bad Bud Selig couldn’t have thought of this instead of that stupid Home Field advantage in the world series crap for the All-Star Game.
- If there were an anti-Michael Phelps it would have to Kate Hoff who seemed to rack up the fourth place finishes. Okay, I may have been a little bitter because she was on my fantasy Olympics team.
- In the rare moment when they were at the Water Cube and not crushing on Phelps, all the inner dating that is going on in basically every country but ours. The most salacious being the tale of Laure Manaudou who left France after winning Gold in Athens, making her a national star, to be with her swimmer boyfriend only for him to break up with her, date one of her rivals, and post the types of pictures to the internet that are typically reserved to beauty queens and Paris Hilton.
- I turned on the television the other day to a soccer game between the United Stated and Canada, the problem being it took me way too long to figure out who was who. Ever since the beret debacle of the Opening Ceremonies, there has been some questionable wardrobe choices for what should be the red, white and blue. But there was no hint of blue in the soccer uniforms. Then there is Nastia Liukin who opted for a pink number in the all around competition. Okay, this was all a ruse just to post of pictures of Heather Mitts and Liukin in that pink leotard.
- Pardon the Interruption had an interesting discussion on if she would become the next America’s Sweetheart. The easy answer is no as it is hard to be America’s Sweetheart with a name like Nastia. Name aside she certainly has the looks; the biggest problem though is that American hasn’t had a real sweetheart since Reece Witherspoon circa Legally Blonde. Sadly the only way females today can get America’s attention for more than one day is for being infamous as seen in the past five years with the parade of Paris, Britney, Nicole, Amy, Lindsay and the chicks from The Hills. Even the Disney stars these days have problems keeping their cloths on.
- Watching the Women’s Marathon I was struck that near the twentieth mile mark, the commentator said that the top woman were running 5:30 mile. I’m not sure I could run just a single mile at that time.
- Nothing says it is time to go to bed than it is 2:00 AM and they are showing the 20K Walk Race. Isn’t a speed walker an oxymoron?
A plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Into the Unknown, Sons of Anarchy, The Closer and House of Paine marathons, Eli Stone, Greek, Samurai Girl, and Raising the Bar:
- Discovery’s new show Into the Unknown starts tomorrow at 10:00. The show is described as, “International explorer Josh Bernstein travels the world on epic quests for knowledge and discovery. Inspired by deep mysteries and burning questions, he takes a series of unforgettable journeys into the unknown; no location is too remote, no culture too exotic, no goal too ambitious. Each quest sparks new revelations and incredible insights as Josh takes us on a thrilling hunt for answers.” Below is a promo:
- More video is coming out of FX’s new show Sons of Anarchy, debuting September 3, here is a behind the scenes look:
- When I got a press release from the Turner networks of their Labor Day plans I thought that was a little early. That was until I looked at my calendar and saw that it is in two weeks. Boo. But anyways. TNT will be running thirteen episodes of The Closer starting at 9:00 AM capping with the series premiere of Raising the Bar at 10:00. Over on TBS, a ten hour, twenty episode marathon of House of Paine starting at 10:00 AM.
- In a story I broke yesterday, ABC.com is hosting Starter Kits for their returning shows, here is the one for Eli Stone:
- ABC Family is getting a jump on the new fall season with the season premiere of Greek on its new day and time of Tuesday, August 26 at 9:00. Then there is also the network’s mini-series Samurai Girl starting September 5 starting the moderately attractive Stacy Keibler (not as the title character, that is instead goes to Real World alumni Jamie Chung). I should have a preview of both in the next couple weeks as well as the previously mentioned Raising the Bar.
Quote of the Week: Goodnight LeBatard’s mustache. (Tony Kornheiser, Pardon the Interruption)
Big New of the Week: It’s the End of the World as We Know It: And I feel sick. The most coveted endorsement: Angelina Jolie. I wish I were making this up. Then Barack Obama finally got around to responding to John McCain’s celebrity ad, keep in mind it took him a week longer than it took Paris Hilton to respond, calling McCain “Washington’s biggest celebrity.” The election better get here soon before someone uses the rubber/glue response.
Coalition Links of the Week: With the news that the Emmys will have actors recite classic TV lines from the past 60 years, Buzz put out a call for your favorite TV quips. (BuzzSugar)
We wind down the week with some Friday Fun, this time featuring battles between some of our favorite sidekicks. Tell us who you think would win. (RTVW Online)
Vance asks all you readers to help pick the Song of the Summer for 2008! (Tapeworthy)
This week, Jace took a look at another British import, reviewing the first three episodes of BBC America's new drama Skins, launching this Sunday. (Televisionary)
TiFaux’s coverage of the Olympics included coverage of commercials, hot athletic bodies, the opening ceremonies and, yes, even a few passing mentions of sports! (TiFaux)
This week the TV Addict asked, "Is The Secret Life of the American Teenager the Best Worst Show Ever?" (The TV Addict)
Kate stayed up way too late and decided that Grey's Anatomy is just likeFriends. (TV Filter)
I Love Money: We may just be getting closer and closer to the first reality death. Pumpkin better hope that VH1 brought down some metal detectors. You can download episodes of I Love Money on iTunes.
Sit a side an hour because Best Week Ever has compiled the Ten Best To Catch a Predator segments ever. Don’t ask me how the naked dude who gets tackled by a dude only lands at number eight.
With all the Olympics I have been watching over the past week there have been plenty of NBC programming I have seen. First off, who knew Lipstick Jungle wasn’t canceled? As for the news show, it probably says something that I have only seen one ad for Caruso and Knight Rider, but ads for Kath and Kim and My Own Worst Enemy are shown ad nausea. That is not to hint at the quality of either as both look unwatchable. Kath and Kim looks less funny each commercial and Jennifer Garner makes for a more credible looking spy than Christian Slater.
Free Download of the Week: Primeval: My sources tell me the BBC America show is entertaining but I cannot find that channel on my television, but you can download the first episode for free on iTunes.
Promo of the Week: In about a month shows start trickling back to your television sets, some that we haven’t seen for nine months. So to help you remember the story so far for their returning shows (Lost is supposed to be up next week), ABC.com have Starter Kits. Below is the Starter Kit for the best new show from last season, Pushing Daisies:
Pick for Next Week: More Olympics, All Day, Every Day, NBC Networks: As swimming winds down (thank goodness, the Michael Phelps coverage is leaving me want to hear more Brett Varve new). For those that need a break from Archery, Table Tennis, and Rowing, tonight is the first face to face meeting with John McCain and Barack Obama on MSNBC in a forum on faith starting at 8:00. Well face to face for a few moments.
For three years now I have tested your musical knowledge with a monthly Lyrics Quiz and for that anniversary here is your second chance of song that when unguessed their first time around. As always you need to put both artist and title in the comments section (or you can e-mail me) and if you are correct I will un-bold it and give you credit. The Lyrics Quiz is for entertainment purposes only so please do not use anything besides your own meandering mind to help you up with the answers. Feel free to go through the archives or use the Lyrics Quiz Label to check out some of the previous hints (the list starts from the oldest quiz to the latest). Now onto the quiz:
1. She couldn’t afford a car so she named her daughter Alexis. 2. She said her name was Donnie but her shirt said Marie. 3. Why, why you slap me in my face? I didn’t say it was okay. 4. Exactly how many days you got last, you laughing? We passing, passing away. 5. Natural fact is, honey, that I can’t pay my taxes. 6. I love in a place where there’s no space or time, I love you for my life, you’re a friend of mine. 7. Tryin’ to get my hands on some Grants like Horace. Yeah livin’ the raw deal three course meals. 8. It’s been too hard living but I’m afraid to die because I don’t know what’s up there beyond the sky. 9. I’m not along because the TV’s on, yeah. I’m not crazy because I take the right pills everyday. 10. Wherever there's somebody fightin’ for a place to stand or decent job or a helpin’ hand. Wherever somebody's strugglin’ to be free, look in their eyes Mom you'll see me. (Ghost of Tom Joad - Bruce Springsteen; guess by Rebekah) 11. No prints can come from fingers if machines become our hands. And then our feet become the wheels, and then the wheels become the cars, then the rigs begin to drill until the drilling goes too far. 12. So go ahead and get gone. Call up that chick and see if she’s home. Oops. I bet you though that I didn’t know. What do you think I was putting you out for? (Irreplaceable - Beyonce; guessed by Rebekah) 13. I got a letterman’s sweater with a letter in front I got for football and track. I’m proud to wear it now. When I cruise around the other parts of the town I got my decal in back. 14. I’ll tap into the water try and bring my share. Try to bring more, more then I can handle. Bring it to the table, bring what I am able. 15. I was a starling, nobody’s darling. Lying in perfect circles just for company. 16. Yeah here we go for the hundredth time. Hand grenade pins in every line. Throw ‘em up and let something shine. 17. She was the type to watch Oprah and the Today Show. Be on the treadmill, uh, like OK-Go. 18. Sneakin’ out late, tapping on your window when we’re on the phone and you talk real slow ‘cause it’s late and your mama don’t know. (Our Song - Taylor Swift; guessed by Rebekah) 19. My body’s longing to hold you so bad it hurts inside. Time is precious and it’s ticking away and I’ve been waiting for you all of my life. 20. Let’s go back, back to the beginning, back to when the Earth, the sun, the stars all aligned. 21. There was blood and a single gun shot. But just who shot who? (Copacabana - Barry Manalow; guessed by Rebekah) 22. Secret lovers is what you wanna be. While making love to him, girl, you’re silently calling on me. 23. All the husbands, all the sons, all the lovers gone they make no difference, no difference in the end. Still hear the woman say “you’re daddy died a hero.” 24. So you think my singing’s out of time: it makes me money. I don’t know why. (Cum on Feel the Noize - Quiet Riot; guessed by Rebekah) 25. Your bark was loud, but your bite wasn't vicious and them rhymes you were kicking were quite bootylicious.
There have been over 800 different lyrics and more than 90 different participants in the past two year. And after twenty-four months, here is the leader board in term of all-time points (and of course check out the Winners List on the sidebar).
What a way to start the Olympics (see It's not the Triumph but the Struggle), to be it turned out to be a sham. First we learned that the Chinese CGI’ed some of the fireworks but by far the worst was the axing a young girl to sing their national anthem for a cuter one who lip synced it. Other thoughts of the first week of the Olympics:
- Andrea Kramer may be the worst sideline reporter ever. Couldn’t NBC just rent out Erin Andrews or at least bring back a former golden girl like Summer Sanders or Janet Evans?
- And you cannot talk swimming without talking Michael Phelps. His Olympics aren’t even over but there is talk of him being not just being the greatest Olympian ever but the best athlete ever. Personally I view swimming these days like the baseball in the nineties. But instead of horse roids, you have these swimsuits that put all these world records with asterisks. Really, there should be a rule that if you cannot put on your suit yourself, it should not be allowed. If Phelps wants to impress me, break all the world records with an old school Speedo and a seventies porn mustache. And NBC is doing everything to turn Phelps into a God even refusing to even mention that whole DUI he got to avoid tarnishing his image. But I will give it to him that he is better athlete than Tiger Woods that has been brought up in the discussion. Golfers and baseball players should never be in any discussion for best athletes. When your peers can be obese and great, your sport by definition is not athletic.
- One of the most mesmerizing sports is badminton. It’s like the Curling of the Summer Olympics for me. One reason is because I have played the sport against natural Asians and got beat down like a red-headed step child. Literally. I came away with welts and bruises from the shuttlecock being imbedded in my chest multiple times. The shuttlecock of course is the fastest instrument in sports.
- What could have been the a symbolic picture of the games, Georgian beach volleyballers embracing their Russian counterpoint is a little less symbolic when you learn the Georgian team are actually Brazilians born duel citizens who spent only a couple more days in Georgia than I have. There are some lax eligibility rules for who you can play for.
- Speaking of eligibility rules, what is with all the weird age requirements? You have to be sixteen or older in gymnastics, a sport that benefits the youth, but there was a fourteen year old diver. But the most odd is soccer where it is something like player must be twenty-five ore younger but you are allowed like three players that are older than that. Oh, and if the female Chinese gymnastics are really sixteen and older, they should really become decoys for Chris Hansen.
- Certainly everyone knows Natalie Coughlin, Jenny Finch and Ana Ivanovic (who sadly had to drop out of the Olympics), or at least the dudes out there, but here is possibly the hottest chick with a gun, and Olympics bronze medalist Corey Cogdell:
One movie I probably should not have seen was 21, a movie about a bunch of MIT students who go to Las Vegas on weekends and land big money by counting cards. I shouldn’t have seen it not based on the quality of the film but after watching I thought to myself, I could do that. And that is the exactly reason why Vegas liked the movie, it causes people to think they can count cards when it is not as easy as the movie suggests. (Okay, it is actually is as easy as the movie would suggest, it just takes a lot longer to actually get a lot of money than the movie suggests.)
My aspirations to lose my entire fortune aside, 21 is more than a gambling film. The movie follows Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe) while he finds a way to get into Harvard Medical School and it is not his grades keeping him out and the promotion at his clothing store isn’t going to put a dent into that tuition. Luck would have it that his professor Kevin Spacey (Pay it Forward) is looking for another student to recruit into his Vegas field trips. Along for the ride is Kate Bosworth who hasn’t looked this attractive on film since Blue Crush.
21 is actually funnier than the trailer would have you to believe thanks mostly to Jim’s two friends and science club buddies who are building a robot together. And that juxtaposition of the nerdier, cold, wintry Boston and sleek, cool Vegas almost makes two distinctive films with the card counters even playing cooler versions of them. Now if there is anyone who would like to be my own personal Kate Bosworth, I will meet you in Vegas.
Apparently some people actually left their houses this weekend to go see Pineapple Express. Personally I stayed in to watch chicks play badminton. For those that went to see the movie, you may have been treated to a new song from Huey Lewis (at least I am assuming because the song is on the soundtrack yet some movie soundtracks do not have many of the songs actually in the movie). So after twenty years Lewis finally found the new drug he wanted. Below is his performance, along with The News, on Jimmy Kimmel and just because, the video for I Want a New Drug. Wow, dude has not aged. Now if you excuse me, I believe there is some team handball being played.
As a corny white dude in the suburbs, there was nothing more entertaining than Shaft, and I am of course referring to the movie that is older than I am, not the Samuel L. Jackson version from a couple years ago, to the point I even did a report in college on the film. The greatness of the movie was much attributed to its theme that sent the tone perfectly for the film. Isaac Hayes may not have written the greatest theme song ever, but it is easiest the coolest one ever which everyone from Peal Jam to The Simpsons copied the infamous, That Shaft is one bad mother…” line. Naturally this guy also repeated the line multiple times if only to see whether anyone would tell me to “shut your mouth,” and if they would I know we could be friends.
To those of my generation not familiar with the original Shaft, they may most know Hayes as Chef from South Park even if he was a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee from the class of 2002. On South Park he again became quoteworthy and even did some singing in on the show. For more on the life of Isaac Hayes, head over to VH1.com: Isaac Hayes, Soul Legend and the Voice of South Park Character Chef, Dead at 65.
Quote of the Week: A song even Michael Bolton can’t ruin. Don’t tell anyone I said that. (Tyler, The Middleman)
Big New of the Week: It’s the End of the World as We Know It: And I am starting to get a little queasy. It was bad enough that John McCain included Paris Hilton in one of his political ads, but then the Paris respond ad just inched us even closer to the impending apocalypse. And when you thought, or at least hoped, that was it, John McCain responded to the Paris Hilton ad saying her energy plan was better than the one of Barack Obama. Let me repeat, the presumptive republican nominee responded to an attack ad from Paris Hilton.
Coalition Links of the Week: Buzz tested your knowledge of how much money TV stars make. (BuzzSugar)
This week, Sandie took a first look at Katie Holmes' guest appearance on Eli Stone. (Daemon's TV)
As part of a week-long series on TV vs. film with TiFaux, Marcia takes a look at some of the ways TV creates more varied characters than film. (Pop Vultures)
Rae steps into the RTVW Confessional and spills about liking good stunt casting, citing such examples as LiLo on Ugly Betty and Katie Holmes on Eli Stone. (RTVW Online)
Vance giddily recaps the finale of So You Think You Can Dance Season 4. (Tapeworthy)
This week, Jace waxed poetic about the latest Peggy-and-Pete-centric installment of Mad Men, easily the one of the most complex, vibrant, and vivid series on television right now. (Televisionary)
In an exciting first for TiFaux, Dan teamed up with Marcia from Pop Vultures to discuss the merits of TV versus film. In his first entry, Dan talked about how couch potatoes are given a bad reputation as anti-social shut-ins. Which, for the record, he only is when Project Runway is on. (TiFaux)
Jack Bauer would me proud as this week, the TV Addict did the impossible and infiltrated the set of 24. (The TV Addict)
Kate was saddened to realize that pretty much any great woman's life can be turned into a Lifetime Original Movie. (TV Filter)
The Middleman: For anyone that didn’t catch all those Ghostbusters references, I do not think we can be friends. You can download episodes of The Middleman on iTunes.
My Boys: Predictable ending, but I have no clue if the wedding will end up going off next season or not. Catch up on recent episodes over at TBS.com. You can also download My Boys on iTunes.
Last week I introduced the cast of Raising the Bar and no one was able to catch the one decree of separation of two of the cast mates, here is a hint:
Free Download of the Week: Man vs. Wild: I was late to hyping the new season, but it just so happens that you can download some bonus material for free on iTunes.
Pick for Next Week: Beijing Olympics, all the time on NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, USA, and Oxygen: Pretty much all I watched this weekend, and all I did, and that looks to continue all week.
For the first time ever, the Olympics come to the Asian mainland for better or worse. Like pretty much every Olympics recently, the lead up was mired in questions on how the would come up thanks to construction and pollution questions. Then there was the added tension of political protest following the Olympics torch wherever it went. Politics aside (besides of course the Obama/Paria Hilton ad that ran) this should be the most contested medal count race since the Soviet Union desolved. Here aresome thoughts of the opening cerimonies that featured 15,000 performers and cost 300 million dollars.
- The Olympics just are not the Olympics without Bob Costas. I do not think I can remember on without him.
- I was surprised to hear that George Bush is the first sitting president to go to a non-American hosted Olympics. Considering most are lame-ducks by the time the Summer Olympics roll around that someone would like the vacation. Leave to Bush who took more vacation time in his first year than most had in their whole term to do so.
- Odd that the national anthem of a Communist country is called March of the Volunteers.
- And like many Olympics before it, the Opening Ceremonies is full with stuff that despite looking cool, I have no clue what they are trying to get to get across and that is even after the commentators explained everything. That whole painting scroll thing is just the most bizarre thing I have ever seen.
- And I am corrected already. After those flowing boxes stop and all the people popped out is the most bizarre thing I have ever seen.
- The Parade of Athletes is at the same time the best and worst part of the Olympics. It is excruciatingly long, but thanks to the length Bob Costas starts to go off script and says some inane things. But what was with the bagpipes through the parade?
- Another part of the Parade is the native costumes with African nation always being the best best. The Americans as usual are lane. This year created by Ralph Lauren complete with ascots and Berets.
- The whole footprint thing is pretty cool.
- Wait, there is no more Zaire? When did that happen?
- Okay, the torch lighting was the most bizarre of them all. Consider my mind blown.
- After all that I flipped throughall the NBC networks and no games yet even though it was noon over there.
By the time you read this the Olympics will most likely already started (although we have to wait for the tape delay to witness the start later tonight). Below are a couple of widgets to to keep you up to date with what is going on with the games. And of course, for all things Olympic, head over to NBCOlympics.com.
A plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on My Boys, the Olympics, Monster Ark, Son of Anarchy, and Larry Flynt. Yes, Larry Flynt.
- Tonight is the summer finale of My Boys at a special time of 10:00. Will Bobby get married? Will the best man show up? Will anyone find out about Kenny and Stephanie? Will my prediction that Mimi Rodgers is Bobby’s mom be right? Here is a clip to hold you over:
- In a story I broke this past weekend, The Olympics start this tomorrow and despite all the blatant commercialism I am geeked about it. In fact the living room is stocked with two televisions, one with picture in picture, and a computer that I hope to log at least half of the proposed 3,600 hours NBC is offering. And if I were not geeked enough, then NBC sent me over this video:
- A couple more Olympics items, as previously mentioned NBC.com will be an interregnal part of the coverage this year. There will be exclusive live video of the action from trials and Olympics, access to Olympic Zone, stories, video and slideshows from your hometown and comprehensive TV and Online Olympic Listings. So head over to NBCOlympics.com and enter your zip code for all that.
- A little late on this one, but Man vs. Wild premiered last night yesterday for it its latest season on the Discovery Channel. But this is cable so I bet it will be repeated a few time before the next episode and I think it was Bear recapping his greatest accomplishments on the show, i.e. the nastiest. Catch future episodes of Man vs. Wild at its new day and time next week, Wednesday at 10:00. Here’s a promo:
- This Saturday on the Sci-Fi Channel is the movie premiere of the Sci-Fi Original Monster Ark starring Renee O’Conner and Tommy “Tiny” Lister at 9:00. Here is a synopsis:
In present day Turkey, a satellite photo reveals an ancient ship imbedded in the ice at the top of Mount Ararat. Believed to be Noah’s Ark from the great flood an expedition is formed to find the lost ark. What they discover is that Noah built two arks. His first ark was built to cast out a deadly creature, hoping to drown it at sea and protect mankind… and the creature still lives inside the ancient wreckage.
- Here is another promo for FX’s upcoming Sons of Anarchy this time with some actual footage of the show featuring Peg Bundy and Hellboy.
- When you receive an e-mail entitled “Larry Flynt Does IFC” you have to share. Tonight at 9:00 the channel is airing a new documentary on Flint called The Right to Be Left Alone which includes rare footage like the precedent-setting Supreme Court case against Jerry Falwell, Flynt’s prison sentencing for refusing to name his source in the FBI entrapment tapes of John DeLorean, and Flynt’s gubernatorial and presidential campaigns. Head over to IFC.com for a nine minute trailer.
There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available, if not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.
Coldplay made two videos for the first half of the title track. The Hype Williams directed version (see here) just looks like an extended version of their iPod ad. Interesting enough people said that Violet Hill was a rip off of Depeshe Mode’s Enjoy the Silence and this version, by the band’s admittance, is an homage to that very video directed by Anton Corbjin.
Who had Carrie Underwood making the most poignant statement of the Iraq War? Dude, put your hand down. You do this by taking the politics out of it and have Carrie take the view of a young widow of an Iraqi Vet. The morphing from the wedding to the funeral is just chilling.
You know when you are at the mall and you occasionally see an unbelievable hot chick waling with some weird dude and think, “Huh?” That is pretty much my whole thought process watching Natalie Portman prance around with Devendra Banhart.
Not sure how I feel about a reunited The Verve. I was pretty much content with Bittersweet Symphony going down as one of the greatest one hit wonders ever even if Love Is Blind is a decent enough song.
From the opening notes of Green, it is surprising to learn that Brendan James self taught himself the piano. Not only that, but he did so by sneaking into hotel ballrooms to practice on their eighty-eight keys. Also a late bloom in the writing department, he never started taking down his lyrics until his sophomore year at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
This inexperience on the bench doesn’t shine threw on his debut album The Day Is Brave. There is grandeur about many of the songs that suggest a more seasoned artist. That is even if some of the songs do seem to blend together at some points. But the ones that stand out are striking. The Other Side (not to be confused with the great David Gray song) starts off like many of the others but quickly morphs into a bouncy fare on par with classic Elton John circa Captain Fantastic.
The other standout on the set is Hero’s Song. Where most songs about Iraq get bogged down in heavy-handed political statement that skimp on actual musicianship, the first person account in James’ song has a melancholy that pulls at the heart especially with lines like I cannot die this way.”
Elsewhere on the album the new songwriter does run into rookie mistakes like unneeded namedropping of Kurt Vonnegut, John, Paul, Ringo, George, and his parents whom both get mentioned multiple times. Maybe if James sneaks into a couple more ballroom, he may be able to nail out a classic in the near future.
What ever happened to City High? They were poised to be the next big thing after the success of the great What Would You Do. Then nothing. Even when the hot chick from the group hooked up with Wyclef Jean on this great song it failed to get much recognition. Then continuing with that bad luck, the next time she hooked up with ‘Clef was for Dance Like This that later got turned into the massive Shakira hit Hips Don’t Lie two years later.
It has been a while since I have read Revelations but I am pretty certain one of the signs of the apocalypse happened this past week and how appropriate in these days and times it can be viewed on YouTube:
Yes that is Britney Spears and Paris Hilton in a political ad. When I first saw this I thought I was watching a Daily Show produced campaigned ad but no, it is from John McCain and he approved that message. Sadly this isn’t the first time with has crossed politics as Britney appeared in a Pepsi commercial with Bob Dole and four years ago Paris was seen sporting a “Vote or Die” t-shirt, but didn’t promptly die after not actually registering to vote. And if that wasn’t enough for McCain, he later released an ad with Moses, or at least Moses to gun nuts, Charlton Heston;
Now here is a smart ad. If I were running the McCain campaign I would be going around, “Yeah because the last time we elected a drug addict with no experience and a God complex, that ended well.” And Friday Obama suggested a $500 energy rebate, because the last time a president gave us a rebate, that really helped the economy.
McCain wasn’t the only one with a silly brush with pop culture as Obama had yet another rapper write a song for him:
Naturally Barack distanced himself from the song calling it, “Outrageously offensive” with his spokesmen adding, “As Barack Obama has said many, many times in the past, rap lyrics today too often perpetuate misogyny, materialism and degrading images that he doesn’t want his daughters or any children exposed to.” This then begs the question why is Ludacris on Obama’s iPod to begin with if he truly believes this because almost all of Luda’s songs have misogyny, materialism or degrading images and some have all three. This is the guy who wrote Move (Expletive Deleted), (Expletive Deleted) Poppin, and written such profound lyrics as, “How you ain’t gonna (expletive deleted), (expletive deleted) I’m me,” “Stop, drop, kaboom, baby rub on your (expletive deleted),” “If you hold the (expletive deleted) stead Imma milk the cow.” And let us not forget that this was the guy who proclaimed he’s “got (expletive deleted) in different area codes.”
All this from a guy Obama has called “extremely talented.” Although shouldn’t someone who is “extremely talented come up with a line better than, “McCain don’t belong in any chair unless he’s paralyzed.” Seriously, what does that even mean? Couldn’t he come up with a better insult than that? But, yeah, George Bush is mentally retarded.
All this ties into the theory that this election will disturbingly be decided by the so called “Low Information Voters” and you really don’t get much lower on the information ladder than from people who dress up an attend Comic Con. Of course the people behind the Obama Girl videos were there to take an informal poll.
Interestingly enough the comic book nerds seem to be leaning Republican who lends some credence that The Dark Knight is a euphemism for the Iraq War with Batman doing his best George Bush impression. And yes, this election will be decided by people like the chick who said McCain but changed only because her friend said Obama. It is really time to bring back the IQ test before letting people vote.
Amongst all that low info crap, I was surprised to see someone actually talk about education this week for the first time in this presidential campaign. Keep in mind it Obama wrapped up his nomination in early June. I guess at that rate we will only hear about education one more time before the election. But anyways. Head over to MSNBC.com to read McCain Criticizes Obama over Education Policies.
Quote of the Week: I see vultures circling ahead, and if this catapult not together Mr. Boston better step up because the first thing they gonna be doing is picking his eyes out. (Chance - I Love Money)
Big New of the Week: It’s the End of the World as We Know It: And surprisingly I feel fine about it. Although when writing this I realized that the end of the world probably deserves it own post. So check back tomorrow for that and hopefully the world doesn’t actually end before the.
Coalition Links of the Week: From Silvio Horta's mouth to her ear, Buzz got some insight into Ugly Betty's third season. (BuzzSugar)
Marcia listed her television blind spots, those TV shows she simply can't be bothered to watch. (Pop Vultures)
Vance wants Theo Tams to win Canadian Idol. (Tapeworthy)
This week, Jace recovered from Comic-Con fatigue and reviewed BBC America's latest British television series offering, Primeval, about a group of scientists exploring time-based anomalies and strange creatures. (Televisionary)
Dan will devour any tasty morsel of new programming you give him, so he was delighted to see the preview for the next season of Dexter! (TiFaux)
The TV Addict covered Comic Con so you didn't have to. (The TV Addict)
Raoul talked to David (but sadly not Elvis) from America's Greatest Dog. (TV Filter)
I Love Money: When you let Megan Hauserman be your brains of the operation, that should be sign number one that you are doomed. And when will people learn you never, under any circumstance tank challenges. If you want to get someone out, wait to you lose. I don’t remember when tanking ever worked except for maybe the NBA. Unfortunately Mr. Boston was the victim of Megan and her retarded dog’s Machiavellian plan, or as Machiavellian as someone on I Love Money can get. But that led to one of the funniest fights ever on television between Mr. Boston and Brandi C at elimination. But just when I though I have seen that last of Mr. Boston ever (or at least until the reunion show), a video of him popped up on the intertubes (one that I would never post here) that is part 3rd Base’s The Cactus, part lame teen sex comedy plotline, part profound advise that managed to be the funniest and most disturbing thing ever at the same time. You can download episodes of I Love Money on iTunes.
My Boys: So if Bobby’s dad is my older brother Shooter McGavin, does that make me his uncle? But anyways. While watching this episode I kept on trying to call my stockbroker to see if I could buy massive amount of stock of “Kenny and Stephanie hooking up” but unfortunately I was unable to get through before it was actually revealed on screen. That had to be the most predictable thing on television. The second: Mimi Rogers being Bobby’s mom. It is like the My Boys writer gave up with coming up with any interesting ideas and just started reading from the cliché handbook. Catch up on recent episodes over at TBS.com. You can also download My Boys on iTunes.
It is month until the debut of TNT’s newest show Raising the Bar (and considering the show is about lawyers, this could be the lamest title ever) and I have to say there is something striking about the promo pictures that were released lately. Can anyone name the one degree of separation of two of the characters seen below (click to enlarge)? The first person to correctly guess what that is will win the great prize of a hearty congratulation.
Free Download of the Week: Death Will Never Conquer - Coldplay (Coldplay.com): First Coldplay let you download their debut single from their album and now another freebie an outtake from the Viva la Vida session which is actually sung by the drummer doing his best Chris Martin impression.
Promo of the Week: Chuck could be the most uneven show ever. Sure Casey ranks in the top five characters currently on television and boast the hottest Token Hot Chick. But the title character doesn’t even rank in the top five most entertaining character on his own show and Morgan needs to die a horrible dance soon than later. But this promo for season two shown at Comic Con is getting me excited.
Pick for Next Week: Summer Olympics, starting Friday at 8:00 on NBC: If there starts to be a lack of posts starting next Friday is because I will be watch 3600 hours of the Olympics (I may do some live blogging to keep the 9th Green active) that will be spread out on NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Universal HD, Oxygen (huh?), Telemundo, NBC Olympics Basketball Channel, NBC Olympics Soccer Cannel and NBCOlympics.com. So head over to the website to see when Handball, Sailing, and Trampoline (no, seriously) to see when your favorite are airing.
On a side note, I still have four open spots in my fantasy football league, Dillon Panthers Football, so if you would like to play shoot me an e-mail and I will pass along the sign up information. Our draft will be on Tuesday August 26 at 9:00 EST. All skill levels are welcome and may perfer novices after my pityful 9th place finish last year.
Anyone under twenty-five may not know this, and those older may have forgotten, but Chevy Chase was once the funniest man on the planet. Look at his lineup of films from 1985: National Lampoon's European Vacation, Spies Like Us, and this month’s induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame, Fletch. That is a murder’s row of comedy if there ever was one.
The best of the three was Fletch where Chevy played Irwin M. Fletcher, a newspaper reporter who is either the dumbest smart guy ever or the smartest dumb guy ever. And it is Chase’s brilliance that he was able to walk that line like no one else could (and I am specifically talking to you Zach Braff and Joshua Jackson). While working undercover on a story about drugs being sold on the beach, which included one Norm Peterson, gets propositioned by Tim Matheson (Animal House), who is dieing of cancer, to kill him.
Naturally there is more to the story that includes some corrupt cops which includes one Uncle Phil. Also along for the ride is Geena Davis as Chevy’s buddy at the paper and the token hot chick just happen to play the mother to another token hot chick in her own right, one Miss Tyra Collette.
The legacy of the film is the absurdity of the dialogue as Fletch didn’t meet a wisecrack or horrible alias that he didn’t like. And whenever he got caught in a lie he would keep digging and digging until the other person would just give up trying to catch him in that lie.
This one is for the ladies. Dudes you may want to scroll down to the previous post unless you want to read about the next artist that your girlfriend/wife will torture you with when even she gets tired playing her Celine Dion records.
The name Delta Goodrem may not currently be on the tongues of Americans, but in her native Australia all three of her albums went to number one with eight of her singles topping the charts Down Under too. Her third album, last year’s Delta, is the first to be released stateside.
There is no good American counterpoint to compare to Goodrem who plays danceable piano pop music. Some might compare her to countryman Kylie Minogue and Natasha Bedingfield, but Goodrem has a much better voice than either. Plus she actually plays her own piano. The closest maybe would be the previously mentioned Dion as some of the songs head into the overdramatic slouck, like Woman and Brave Face, which peppers Dion’s catalogue. Of course if that is your kind of music, Delta would be a great addition to your collection. (Fun Fact: Goodrem actually wrote a song for the most recent Dion album.)
Like Dion, there are plenty of listenable songs on the album, not that most dudes would admit that in public. Believe Again is a slow building, uplifting, dance track that should flood the radio in the near future. First single In This Life could have been the same, but pulls the number one diva cliché of adding five too many syllables to the word “life” which takes you out an otherwise catchy song. Then there is One Day which by far has the best beat on the album.
But dudes still reading this, you have been warned.
There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available, if not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.
You think making promos and trailers would be easy, yet nintie percent of the time they actually make me want to see the things they are trying to promote less. The trailer for Pineapple Express would be in the ten percent. The movie on paper doesn’t look like something I’d watch yet thank mostly in part to the M.I.A. soundtrack to the clip, I may end up checking it out (the cheesy white dude saying, “Thug Life” doesn’t hurt things either). The song has the best use of a shotgun sample since Thug Luv.
Easily my least favorite song on the latest album from Alicia Keys. Really, most of the singles from As I Am have been suspect. Why the two best songs, The Thing about Love and Sure looks Good to Me, haven’t been released is beyond me. In fact had the former been released earlier this spring it would have easily been the Prom song of the year. Of course this is one of the many reason why the music industry will be extinct in the next decade or so.
For those always on the look out for the next big thing, here is my suggestion: Amy MacDonald. Another songstress from the British Isles but more KT Tunstall than all the retro singers that have come overseas in the past two years. Her album This Is the Life has been out for more than a year pretty much everywhere else racking up number ones in four countries. The first single here is Mr. Rock and Roll, but for my money, the best song on the album is the title track. You can expect the album to drop stateside August 19 as well as a review the same day on the 9th Green.
You can’t go wrong with one half of seminal rap group The Pharcyde, but why relegate one of the most eccentric rappers in Fat Lip to just singing the hook. Even without him spitting anything himself, Tre Hardson, whom you may know better as Slimkid3 makes up with his verses.
to put down a plastic toy and pick up a real ax. The variety may not be as wide on This Is the Life but keep in mind Tunstall has more than a decade on the twenty year old, with age, maybe MacDonald Rolling Stone cover premonition could come true before she hits thirty.
over at Amazon MP3 for free.)![Terror Alert Level: High [ORANGE]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebDZ0qqwOVKMZj7oFSUe8Hm3ax54U9Hp1fThJPgiddTyzcdwx_5SV6E3b7hkKyxbaDiym4COmUXT2YJnsKCUjBHI_a2xZtNoY7qFQRslP5AGO5gLkJwn2ZbO0wIF80ycbKrgPPA/s400/small_high.png)
on my Terror Alert Scale.
. Sadly the only way females today can get America’s attention for more than one day is for being infamous as seen in the past five years with the parade of Paris, Britney, Nicole, Amy, Lindsay and the chicks from 
) while he finds a way to get into Harvard Medical School and it is not his grades keeping him out and the promotion at his clothing store isn’t going to put a dent into that tuition. Luck would have it that his professor Kevin Spacey (
) is looking for another student to recruit into his Vegas field trips. Along for the ride is Kate Bosworth who hasn’t looked this attractive on film since 
.
![Terror Alert Level: Elevated [YELLOW]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-iVFV0hXCTSYP16K_V0Rrxp3GqFrtBIJKeTUyQ2LpxZQ9XKHFj6QGtqqa7oxhLadLV8vUj8R84AftD8IKUSfN0u_u0CYDtJwhrpCPN2DBWquAIDv0jbVlhZL0mDFKlPKluGyxw/s400/small_elevated.png)
on my 
, 
, and this month’s induction into the 
, gets propositioned by Tim Matheson (
), who is dieing of cancer, to kill him.
. Also along for the ride is Geena Davis as Chevy’s buddy at the paper and the token hot chick just happen to play the mother to another token hot chick in her own right, one Miss 
.